The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



571 



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THE RETAIL =^^^ 

 FLORIST 



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Odds and Ends. 



\Vhat we consider as the spoi.-ial duty 

 of retailers the coming season is to do 

 all in their power to make successes of 

 the several flower shows to be held 

 throughout the country. It is too sadly- 

 apparent that but a very small percent- 

 age of American floral exhibitions are 

 successful financially or otherwise, be- 

 cause they are not supported and made 

 at least artistic by the retail florists. It 

 is only the few who are often classed 

 as "cranks" that sacrifice much to keep 

 floriculture thus before the public. To 

 be sure exception in many cases may 

 justly be taken against the system and 

 manner of judging artistic work; this 

 no doubt prevents many retailers from 

 entering into shows, and no sane per- 

 son can blame them. In our humble 

 opinion only men of national reputation 

 should be asked to pass upon the work 

 displayed at the principal shows, and 

 whilst a man may know what a good 

 plant is, that man may be utterly in- 

 competent to judge "made up" work. 



But apart from the competition exhi- 

 bitions, no matter how small or isolated 

 the place, these shows afford the retail- 

 er splendid opportunities to advertise 

 his business and here let us remark 

 that no matter how prominent the man 

 or his business, he needs to keep him- 

 self before the public as much as pos- 

 sible and he cannot do this in a more 

 beneficial way to himself than showing 

 thera what he is capable of doing artisti- 

 cally. 



We would in many senses appeal to 

 the retailers to show a little more pub- 

 lic spiritedness ; don't permit flower 

 shows to be discontinued because you 

 cannot all get prizes. The average flow- 

 er buyer, aye, your own customers, ap- 

 preciate good work whether it wins or 

 loses. A judge's decision may or may 

 not help to defray your expenses, but 

 it may not necessarily affect your trade. 

 Exhibitions are failures because their 

 artistic qualities are not of sufficient 

 high standard to appeal to the general 

 public. Sugar-loafed mounds of plants 

 and regiments of bottled flowers are not 

 attractive enough ; there must be more 

 novelty — more idealism displayed, and 

 this is where the retailers can excel. 

 If it were only to duplicate what you 

 have made for the late president's 

 funeral and label it so, or a set of 

 bouquets, or table decoration, or a lesson 

 in arranging plants, do something, for 

 flower shows are of great value to the 

 trade in general and every one at some 

 time must be something above the com- 

 mon salesman. Show some heart and 

 soul and contribute to the floral exhi- 

 bition in your locality. 



We have recently been asked by an 

 extensive grower of bulbs as to the ad- 

 visability of offering mixed tulips in 

 pans and boxes next Easter. We are of 

 opinion that pans or boxes of tulips 

 or hyacinths containing two good col- 

 ors will sell well providing they have 

 quality also, and it will not be either 



\\i~c ..1 :iiii-tie to mix the colors in 

 il].rl,,i ii..:iMl lashion. Yellow and white, 

 wliiir :iihl lihic. pink and yellow, pink 

 ami \vliiu — well the combinations can 

 be extended to all the varieties you may 

 have, but they must be giouped. We 

 think that baskets of mixed bulbs such 

 as tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, valley, 

 etc., will sell well in many' places if 

 they are put up nicely; the trouble is 

 that they would have to be arranged 

 when shomng color. There are many 

 people who would appreciate baskets or 

 pans of mixed growing bulbous flowers 

 and it needs variety to show off store 

 stock. Don't go to excess in crepe paper 



scm over, and there are reasons to jus- 

 tify them in being so. 



If you want to do specially good work 

 with chrysanthemums you had better 

 use the incurved types, but there is a 

 class- (hi- |iuiii|ii'ns — which are by far 

 t|[f iiMi,i -iiiiaiil.' lor extra critical work. 

 \iy |,uiii|M.ii. »,• ,l,,n't mean the riff-raff 

 pimy tilings gicwn out of doors, but 

 those growni under glass with as much 

 care as other kinds. If you intend to 

 decorate a table for a show try and get 

 some of these flowers, and use very fine 

 bronzed tips of Ampelopsis 'Veitehii or 

 Japan maple — but we will leave these 

 flowers for another time. 



Speaking of exhibition work, though, 

 reminds us that we should pot up some 

 small Rosa Wichuraiana and put them 

 indoors to use as foliage later on. We 

 venture to say that we could fix a table 

 with hybrid Rosa Wichuraiana foliage 

 and some small rose such as the Chero- 

 kee or Rambler, that would push your 

 large roses and fancy greens and ribbons 

 very hard. Put a few plants in pots 

 anyhow, or get your grower to do it 

 for vou; they will be valuable to you 



■Wreath with Bar. Arranged by Mr. C. W. McConahy, 'Van Wert, O. 



trimmings, use some Porto Rican mats 

 and inexpensive but good colored small 

 baskets. 



You will all soon be surrounded by an 

 army of chrysanthemums. Some of the 

 principal florists intend to handle just 

 as few as they can, simply because they 

 become very common stock. The street 

 fakirs can in a while offer the same qual- 

 ity of flowers as you for half or one-third 

 the price. The best thing for any first 

 class florist is to display and push the 

 uncommon or extra high grade. Of 

 course no florist can altogether ignore 

 the chrysanthemum ; it is a most valua- 

 ble flower and will always be plentiful 

 on the market, yet the majority of re- 

 tailers are always glad to see their sea- 



for fine work, be it vase or basket or 

 mantel. 



Get posted on where you can get good 

 pot grown ivy; you will soon need plen- 

 ty of them. Small Araucaria excelsa 

 are going to be pushed this winter, many 

 growers are buying quantities of them. 

 Now they will "go" at Christmas if put 

 in crimson pots and tied with bow of 

 ribbon. It should now be remembered 

 by growers that there is a continuous 

 demand during the winter for good rose 

 geranium and lemon verbena foliage, so 

 much so that many could make a spe- 

 cialty of their culture and make more 

 money than they now do. The trouble 

 is. as with everything else, there is 

 an occasional glut or over anxiety to get 



